Eyes in the Skies
by FierySprites
Summary: Being kidnapped by a spider guy because you're supposedly the 'hero of the lower world' (yeah, right) is not exactly Dedede's idea of a great time. But with nowhere else to go, and Kirby still very far away… maybe he can find out just what this guy's deal is. [Mid-Triple Deluxe, 'Make a Friend' Fic]
1. Deluxe-Level Diplomacy

**Eyes in the Skies**

_**Chapter 1  
**__Deluxe-Level Diplomacy_

(Uploaded on October 18, 2019)

* * *

**Summary:** Castle Dedede, strung up in the sky by a mysteriously-sprouted beanstalk, gets an unwelcome visitor – and he's got his sights set on the king himself. And with that, Dedede's morning promptly got worse than it already was.

**Notes:** This four-chapter fic is set during the events of _Kirby: Triple Deluxe._ This chapter in particular takes place during the game's opening cutscene.

* * *

**[King Dedede]**

**Castle Dedede – Throne Room**

"_Ohhhhhhhhh,"_ Bandana Dee moaned, a worried expression firmly on his face and a visibly shaking form showing off the panic he was no doubt feeling. This was… not an unusual occurrence for him, sadly. "Wh-Wh-What's g-going on now?" my faithful assistant asked as he stood readily-ish by my side, his fellow brethren guarding the room alongside him. "Wh-Why does this type of thing a-always happen when we least expect it…?"

I was sitting on my throne and staring out one of the many windows. "I dunno, Dee," I sighed. "I dunno." Under ordinary circumstances (read: not weird, probably world-ending bullcrap), the windows would showcase a bright and sunny sky, the grassy plains of Cookie Country just barely able to be seen from our height on Mt. Dedede. I relish seeing this sight normally; Dream Land is a very beautiful place when there's not—oh, let's say, Dark Matter flying about, trying to possess as many people as possible. (That was never a good time.) But now, I couldn't see anything but clouds.

Clouds down below us, clouds hovering in the air, clouds that hopefully weren't Kracko having a bad day and wanting to take it out on us—

And most weirdly of all, there were these green vines wrapped around my castle, big and curly and rather leafy—which I presume are the reason why my castle's currently suspended up in the air. They weren't here when I woke up the previous morning, and they definitely weren't here when I went to sleep. My first thought was that maybe one of my Dee's gardening hobbies grew out-of-control—but even then, plants typically don't grow to this high a height, so that can't be it.

Ugh—why does it seem like things have only gotten more ridiculous since Kirby and I made up?

I wonder if he's gotten himself into a similar situation, too.

(A part of me wishes I had Meta Knight on standby. His advice could probably be useful at a time like this…)

…right. Enough musing. I'm the king of Dream Land; I've got a predicament to sort out, I need to figure out how this affects me and my people, and by golly, I'm gonna right this mess and get on with my day as usual. With Smash season coming up in just a few months, I can't afford to have this type of thing throwing me off-guard.

If worst comes to worst and this problem proves permanent—though past experience tells me it shouldn't be—then it's probably best to figure out if there's at least an easily traversable way back down to Pop Star.

I don't fancy having to fly up and down every time I need to get back home.

"Waddle Dees!" I called, gloved hands cupped over my mouth. "Anything of importance to note?" Immediately, two of my trusted guards waddled up in front of my throne and saluted.

"Great King, all of our troops on the lookout as we speak," one of them informed me. "As we are presently separated from most of our major allies, we have placed the castle under high alert, in case this proves to be a preemptive strike from hostile forces. We have our aerial troops investigating our given state of affairs outside, and they have reported we are, at the bare minimum, several thousand miles from ground level." Well, isn't _that_ fun. I wonder if Adeleine and Ribbon can see my castle now from Cloudy Park. "Until we can figure out a solution, I would advise you to remain here. We cannot risk the enemy managing to place you out of commission during this critical time."

I nodded solemnly. "Gotcha." Being possessed and/or dragged out of the way of major scuffles seems to be a reoccurring thing of mine. I hope it's stopped. Kirby may be our 'premiere protagonist' of sorts, but it's not like he can handle _everything_ alone.

He'd never like it to be that way, anyway.

As the two watchmen returned to their posts, Dee cautiously grabbed his favored spear and held it, tip pointed toward the ceiling. "I—I r-really don't like the looks of this," he admitted. "We're so high up, a-and we could fall at, like, a-any moment…!" He gulped. "It's a long way down…"

"I'm… I'm sure that things won't have to come to that," I tried to reassure him, a sweatdrop going down my head. "These vines should support us until we can get some assistance. All we really need is Kirby with, like, five Sparkling Stars and he can _probably_ balloon us back down."

Dee hummed thoughtfully. "A-Actually… that sounds like a good idea!" he said. "He sh-should've seen what happened to us; there's no way he can miss it!" His voice was noticeably a little more confident now, which I'll take as a win. "H-Hey, why don't you give him a call, Great King? We can tell him everything on his way here!"

"Right, not a bad thing to do." I flipped open my phone – outwardly themed after me, of course – and prepared to speed-dial my best friend. I should still be able to get reception, even all the way up here. "He better be fully awake. It wouldn't do for him to be operating at half-power if we need to get into a fight… even if he _is_ surprisingly good at fighting half-asleep."

"Y-Yeah," Dee giggled. "That'd k-kinda be embarrassing."

I was all about to press the button and do the thing—that is, until one of my Dees suddenly and very loudly yelped in panic.

"_Wh-What!?"_ I heard him shout into his walkie-talkie. "There's a _who_ in the _where_ doing _what _to our troops!?" I flinched. _That didn't sound good!_ "I need a report on the situation, stat! If they're here for our Great King, every detail you can give us counts!" A disturbing silence resounded from where there was once chatter from the speakers. "…Blue Squad, are you still there? Blue Squad, come in, _Blue Squad!"_

Dee and I shared a look. _Oh, what could __**this**__ be? __(I hope it's not the Squeak Squad trying to pull a fast one on me again…)_ I brought my gaze back toward my servant and commanded, "H-Hey, Waddle Dees! What's going on!?"

"Great King, we've got an intruder charging through the castle!" he quickly reported. "And he's brought an army of weird bugs with him! We've got our forces on defense trying to hold them back, but they're being overwhelmed too fast! At the rate they're going, they'll reach the throne room before we have the time to call in any reinforcements from outside!"

My eyes widened, and I jumped to my feet. _"Crud!" _I cursed. "Of _course_ something like this would happen. Ugh, I am _not_ up to dealing with a hostile show takeover!"

"M-M-Me neither!" Dee exclaimed. "G-Great King, is there anything else we can do, anywhere we can evacuate!?"

The gears in my brain clicked and clacked for a moment. "There's the passageway in the back of this room," I remembered. "The one that leads to my battle ring. If we can get there in time, the intruder shouldn't be able to find us!" _For some time, at least!_

"Th-That's perfect!" He nodded determinedly. "Wh-What are we waiting for? Let's go now, b-before it's too late—!"

_**KA-CRASH!**_

And then the doors to my throne room swung on open.

Immediately, all the Waddle Dees in the room leaped into the fray. They formed a protective barrier in front of me, spears pointed at our most definitely unwanted guest. Dee and I brought out our own weapons of choice, not willing to just stand by and act idly.

I grit my teeth as we all caught a good look at our latest opponent. He wasn't from around Dream Land, I knew that: he seemed to be an arachnid, much like a Como, with six hands hovering by his sides and two horns sticking out from his silver hair. A red scarf was tied around his neck, which somewhat complemented his green get-up and cape.

(Oh, and he had two yellow eye-like beads above his eyes. _Brrrr, that's unsettling!)_

He didn't look like much… but I knew very well appearances could be deceiving.

I glared fiercely at him. "So, you're the guy running about and causing havoc in my castle. You've got some nerve, trying to attack me and my servants!" I raised my hammer high in a threatening posture. "I'm gonna give you a good royal clobbering for that!"

Instead of being intimidated, though, he just… giggled. Creepily. "So," he said, _"this_ is the savior who would dare threaten Her Majesty's might. That strong stature, that powerful hammer, all the forces at your disposal… yes, yes, I see it now. You truly are the **hero of the lower world** I have been searching these skies for!"

I resisted the urge to start grumbling. _Great, it's another wackjob! And he's got delusions of grandeur, too!_

"Hands off our king!" My trusty Waddle Dees were quick to attack the floating spider, trying to overwhelm him through a full-frontal assault and a hefty numbers advantage. Unfortunately, he was more than prepared for that.

He created a spider web in front of him, and somehow, it incapacitated all of my offense in an instant. They didn't even get the chance to scream; they were _that quickly_ balled up inside cocoons made of silk. But that wasn't all he had, for soon after, he brought his hands close to his body and unleashed a burst of energy, scattering the rest of my as-of-then-unfallen Dees across the room.

That just left just me and Dee still standing.

My head darted left and right, looking in shock at the way my servants had been tossed around like a soccer ball at a Smash match. Eventually, I fell back on Taranza, who merely gazed at me with a rather malicious smile. He giggled again. "Only two left!" he sang giddily. "If this is the best you've got, then I admit, I'm _sorely_ disappointed!"

_Right. Enough is enough!_

I growled. "Dee! Don't let your guard down! Hit 'im with everything you've got!"

"R-R-Roger that!"

Just 'cause Dream Land is peace-and-quiet-central most of the time doesn't mean I don't get some exercise in here and there, keep my skills sharp. Kirby and Meta Knight are especially good on the sparring front, too. (And Magolor, whenever he pops in for a visit.) Dee and I are considered the third and fourth strongest contenders on Pop Star for a reason; you better bet I was going to give this freak a taste of his own medicine!

Unfortunately, he was a pretty formidable foe himself, pulling out all sorts of tricks and spells that I had scarcely ever seen. He was managing to keep us at bay without any real trouble (that I could tell, anyway) _and_ wearing us down to boot. As hard as I fought, it was only a matter of time before he'd pull out something I couldn't react to—

—and eventually, that moment arrived.

He threw an even more powerful burst of energy at me – and it must've been imbued with some status effect or whatever, because I found myself dropping to the floor with my stamina completely depleted.

"At last!" the arachnid crowed._ "At last!_ Victory is finally within my grasp! The hero has fallen—and with it, all the lands!"

"_Ughhhhhhh…"_ I groaned, barely paying attention to whatever he was saying.

_This—This can't be the end…_

_I have a duty to my servants, to my subjects…!_

_What will they do if I actually lose here…!?_

"_G-G-G-G-__**Great King!"**_

"_Oh no, no, no, no no __**no—!**__ Dedede! Dee! Are—Are you guys okay!?"_

I weakly lifted my head. Lo and behold, there was Kirby, having just arrived to see the tail end of the chaos—and looking plenty horrified by the sight. Neither of us could even get a greeting in edgewise though, for I felt myself being carted up into an electric net and lifted off the ground.

Dee threw a volley of spears into the air, but by then, my assailant had already moved out of his throwing range.

"I dearly apologize for the things I have to do," the mystery spider said, not sounding apologetic at all, "but I, **Taranza**, cannot let anyone interfere in Her Majesty's great plans for this realm. Don't worry… you'll get your **hero** back eventually—_after_ her leadership is made utterly unquestionable!"

"'Hero'…? 'Her Majesty'…!?" Kirby repeated. "Whatever it is you're talking about, leave Dedede out of it! If it's a hero you want, I'll—!"

"Now, if you excuse me," Taranza interrupted him, "I must be off. My queen does not appreciate being kept waiting. Toodle-oo!"

"_No! Come back, G-Great King—!"_

Having said his farewell, the arachnid yanked me further into the air, and then we crashed into the ceiling. With nothing stopping him now, Taranza flew off into the sky with me in tow, to where several islands waited off in the distance.

The wind flew by my face in an exhilarating manner, but I was in no state to enjoy the feeling. After all, I was being kidnapped by a madman from a foreign kingdom with some of the worst diplomatic skills I had ever seen. I could only look on helplessly as Kirby and Dee chased us from the nearby beanstalk, running as fast as they could, but never managing to close the distance entirely.

It was… frustrating. Really, really frustrating.

And as we continued our ascent into new territories beyond… there was one thought that was permeating my mind. One thing, above all else, that I couldn't help but tiredly sigh:

…_I shouldn't have gotten out of bed this morning._

* * *

**And suddenly, here's another one of my multi-chapter **Make a Friend** prequel fics. Curse my inability to restrain my imagination.**

**Much like **_**In Times of Crisis,**_** this is another side-character-centric fic set during the events of a mainline **_**Kirby**_** game – only this time, we're going all-in on Dedede's perspective, during the main campaign of **_**Triple Deluxe**_** no less.**** I've established in later-era fics that he and Taranza have built up a sort of friendly relationship – and in the interest of building up just a little more Taranza's character, I decided to write this whole thing! Don't worry, it shouldn't be nearly as long as **_**In Times of Crisis**_** or **_**One Last Time, I'll Fight**_** – there's not gonna be a whole lot in terms of action scenes, so I'm clear on that front.**

**I find it funny how the Dreamstalk managed to get both Kirby's house **_**and**_** Castle Dedede, and (presumably) nothing else. It's almost as if fate knew exactly what was in store for them. (Either that, or maybe Dedede has a bigger qualification for the status of 'hero' then he himself thinks he does. I mean, if **Dededetour** is any indication…)**

**Also, there will be liberal amounts of Bandana Dee featured in this fic. Because he is our precious and most adorable boy and anywhere he can happily be himself is a place that must be treasured.**

**Well, that's all for now – tune in next time for more of Dedede's 'I have no idea what's going on, but I'll figure things out out somehow' thing!**


	2. Destination Up Ahead

**Eyes in the Skies**

_**Chapter 2  
**__Destination Up Ahead_

(Uploaded on October 23, 2019)

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**Summary:** Three worlds in, and Dedede still has barely any idea what Taranza's motivations are, or even what his character is beyond 'lookie here, I'm a big six-handed douche!'. But he's gradually gleaning info from the latter's regular 'discussions' with himself and his friends—and he's not liking what he sees.

**Notes:** This chapter starts while Kirby is travelling through the third world of _Triple Deluxe,_ **Old Odyssey**.

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**[King Dedede]**

**Floralia  
Old Odyssey – Frozen Hills**

Contrary to the warm, sunny weather we had been blessed with for the previous two worlds, Taranza and I were now riding through hails of wind and blisteringly cold conditions. If it wasn't for my coat and all the feathers on my body, I have the feeling that this atmosphere would be utterly intolerable—even _without_ taking my current exhaustion into account.

I have to give this spider credit: he may be a crazy over-the-top villain – as crazy and over-the-top as _I _used to be, maybe – but he certainly knows his way around this kingdom.

Too bad for him Kirby's just as good at navigation. And he figure things out on the fly, too.

(Say, how the heck did these islands go hidden for this long? And how did they miss out on the Dark Matter crises and whatnot?

…that's a question for another day, I guess.)

Notably, Taranza was scowling, a far cry from the smug smirk I had come to associate him with. "That pesky puffball doesn't know when to stop," he groused. "I hide out and fly about all over Floralia, and _still_ he persists on chasing me! Anyone would run after the forces I have at my disposal!"

"Some of us would quiver," I said, "but that doesn't mean we'd run. My subjects are better than that. And my friends, too. Trust me—eventually, they'll back you into a corner, and then there'll be no escape for you."

The wind began to howl furiously past our ears. I could see the telltale signs of a snowstorm building up around us as I spoke.

"H-H-Ha ha ha ha ha!" he laughed. "Him and that unremarkable Waddle Dee…? They may have survived this long, but the road only gets harder from here! They'll—They'll give up before they even make it to the Moonlight Capital!"

…_his voice caught on for a moment there._

_What's __**that**__ about?_

…_deal with it later._

"And I'm sure the fact that they've survived a Whispy clone and a demented artist don't factor into the equation at all," I sniped. As fatigued as I felt, I still had enough left in me to dish out some burning-hot snark. "Gee, you _really_ don't understand 'em at all. Isn't there a saying about not underestimating your opponents…?"

"I—I—I don't _need_ to know what they're capable of!" he retorted. "I have you, the hero of the lower world—" _There's that title again—_"held hostage, and there can be no one stronger who can stand up to our forces! Those two, they've just been lucky! That's all!"

I sighed. Oh, for the love of NOVA… this was getting old. "Alright, let's just… agree to disagree, shall we? We've been arguing in circles for the last couple of hours." Seriously, Taranza just refuses to give up on his stance. He stubbornly clings to it like a baby Dee who doesn't want his blanket taken for laundry purposes.

"Fine. But I still say you're wrong!" He began making these wild gestures, posturing in the grandest way I've possibly seen. "I am Taranza, second-in-command to Her Majesty herself, Queen Sectonia! I am the enforcer of her every command, the bringer of r-righteous justice upon the People of the Sky! If there is a mission Her Majesty requires me to accomplish, I—I will do it without hesitation! For her glory and her acceptance is all I need—!"

And then the ongoing blizzard interrupted him, bucketloads of snow being pelted into our faces _(Gah! What I wouldn't give for a parasol right now!)._ He promptly shut up and went to seek shelter.

* * *

**Old Odyssey – Cave**

While we were getting all nice and cozy in a nearby cave as we waited for the storm to die down, I took the time to think about everything I've learned over the past few days or so.

I've been kidnapped by Taranza, a servant of Queen Sectonia from the Kingdom of Floralia. Supposedly, she wants to extend her reign – a reign of terror, I'll bet – over to all of Pop Star (which is nothing new to us, sadly). To that end, she sent her servants to go kidnap the 'hero of the lower world'—whoever would theoretically serve as the biggest threat to her plans.

And apparently, they've decided that hero… is me. Because I'm the ruler of Dream Land, or something similar to that.

…their logic is _somewhat_ sound, I'll give 'em that.

I'm more of the 'hero's best friend', honestly, but if it keeps Kirby away from Taranza's clutches, then I'll let things slide. For now.

Better not to risk him realizing who the _real_ hero is 'round here.

Besides…

…

…there's something about Taranza that I haven't quite pinned down yet.

Something about him that… actually reminds me a lot of—well, me.

Me before 2008. Me when I still held a grudge against Kirby.

…_hmm…_

I decided to ask a question. "…hey. Taranza. What's it like, being under Sectonia's rule?"

"_Queen_ Sectonia's rule," he immediately corrected me.

…_seriously? __**That's**__ what he chooses to focus on?_

Okay, Dedede, just go with the flow. "Right, right, under your precious Majesty's rule. If I'm gonna be meeting her—" _in spite of the fact that I __**really**__ don't want to_ "—then I need a better idea of the type of character she has." Being a king's taught me you've gotta know how to make a good impression – and preemptive information can help a lot on that front.

Taranza brightened up, all traces of his cocky persona completely wiped away. A wide smile broke out on his face as he eagerly began to discuss his clearly beloved (to him) regent. "Oh, I'm glad you asked!"

He cleared his throat. "Her Majesty is the most beautiful and most benevolent queen in existence! Her might reaches beyond any mere soldier in the ranks of our forces! Those who honor her decisions and succeed in carrying out her orders are treated with kindness!" He scowled. "It's a shame that our people keep trying to rebel against her. If they would only stop, they'd find that she is a most merciful individual!"

I raised an eyebrow. "…I'll take your word for it." _And by that, I mean I'll take it with ten tons of salt._ "I assume you're pretty close to Queen Sectonia?"

"Like I said, I am the enforcer of her every command!" he preened. "We've known each other since we were young. Everyone in Royal Road saw me with her so often, they took to treating me like I was royalty myself." There was a blush on his face, and his eyes began to glaze over. "…in those days, Secton—_Her Majesty_ was a sweetheart. She always told me how much she wanted to be the greatest queen, to bring about an age of prosperity to Floralia.

"Th-Things aren't perfect. Even I can see that. But Sect—Sectonia, she's… she's trying her best! Wh-What she's doing, they're—they're the right decisions to make! _…they have to be…!"_

…he's spilling out all this information rather easily.

Nobody just does that, especially not a villain who's working for an even greater villain.

_Something's wrong._

I looked at him closer. The glaze wasn't just out of remembrance – it was out of sadness. Concealed regret, even – the kind you don't want to admit to yourself, _can't_ admit to yourself.

And that last line…

…

'_**Because if I can't win against him, despite all my efforts…**_

…_**then what good am I as a king, self-proclaimed or not?'**_

…it brings back memories.

Uncomfortable memories.

More quietly, he was muttering, "A-And sure, she—she may p-punish me a lot nowadays, and she isn't as lenient or as forgiving as she used to be toward me – it—it's been a while since her last compliment, a-actually – but deep down, I… I know she still cares for me! I'm—I'm her best friend, after all…!"

…and _that_ just makes me even _more_ worried for this guy's well-being.

Dear NOVA, just what did I get involved in?

Taranza shook his head. "Wh-Whatever. I've given you p-plenty of enough information already. You—You should be more than prepared to m-meet Her Grace by this point! Her descending to your realm is a good thing, y-you'll see!"

I frowned and crossed my arms, tired though I was. I wasn't liking the picture I was getting, not one bit. "…I don't really believe that," I said, barely audible. "And I know you don't, either."

A very long silence filled the cave after that remark of mine.

* * *

**Wild World – Jungle Depths**

Eventually, after a couple of hours of waiting, Taranza was once more able to weave his way through the frozen hills and frigid cliffs that made up this part of Floralia. And from there, he continued on completing his appointed quest, bringing me to the next region of this kingdom, the Wild World.

He was making good progress in traversing the entirety of this island – so far, he's been good at avoiding Kirby up 'til the end of each area – but unfortunately for him (and fortunately for me), life isn't content on giving him a clean ride.

"_G-Give back Great King, you fiend!"_

Which is why Dee is giving him a hard time right now.

Go, Dee.

Taranza was firing back as good as he got at my assistant, orbs of energy shooting from his hands and toward Dee's position. True to form, Dee side-flipped and ran away from the arachnid's attacks, tossing a spear as hard as he could at his foe.

Spider-Boy's mouth curled, casually moving aside from the not-particularly-well-thrown weapon – though it served its purpose as a distraction rather well. Dee closed the distance between the two of them, jabbing his spear at the electric net trapping me. I'm pretty sure he was intending to cut it open, but sadly, magic doesn't work like that.

With that having failed, he moved on to attacking Taranza directly – can't use magic to hold me if he's out cold, I guess. Luckily for him, he managed to get a few good hits in before he flew too high to reach. Next, Taranza flung several volleys of webs at Dee, trying to encase him in a cocoon – Dee responded by spinning his spear in circles and deflecting them rather easily.

"Just give up, Waddle Dee!" the glorified minion growled. "You may be tenacious, but you have nothing against the valor of Her Majesty Queen Sectonia!"

"N-No way I'll do _that!"_ Dee retorted. "You've still got Great King, and I'm not just gonna sit by and leave him alone with you! _That's not what a friend does!"_

Dee charged up, and suddenly shot into the air at a fast pace, spear pointed directly at Taranza. The latter barely had enough time to widen his eyes before he was struck in his chest area, my faithful assistant turning around almost immediately after the attack and tossing a set of three spears at his now-much-closer target. The arachnid grimaced, spun around, and warped away after wrapping himself in a spider's web.

And just to make things more headache-inducing, he went and teleported multiple times, putting as much space between him and Dee as possible. It's a weird feeling! You're in one place for one second, another place the next; it gives me a migraine trying to comprehend it.

Eventually, he stopped in place and spawned two fairly-huge purple diamonds by his sides. "How can you be so devoted to your king, to the point where you'd face impossible odds for him…!? You're not a hero—just a stupid and annoying servant!" He threw and respawned jewel after jewel across the makeshift battlefield, each of them shattering and spreading their sharp shards as they crashed into the ground. "So why… do… you… con-tin-ue to per-sist!?"

"Th-That's easy!" Dee shouted, jumping about and dancing around the newly-created gem fragments. "Great King's not just my liege, he's—he's one of my best friends! And he's one of K-Kirby's, too! And if Kirby's taught me anything, it's that you shouldn't let _anything_ stop you from helping your c-companions out—even if that means having to save them from themselves, s-sometimes! Because real friends…" He used his spear as a pole and vaulted into the sky, breaking a diamond while it was still arcing. "…real friends don't ever give up on each other. D-Don't you know that, T-Taranza…?"

"Save them… from… th-themselves…?" Spider-Boy repeated under his breath. I could see that that struck a nerve with him. A litany of nerves, even. "Don't ever… give up… on each other…? You're—You're naïve. A n-n-_naïve fool!_ That's not how it works—_that's not how it works!"_

Taranza created a medium-sized web in one of his hands, and pitched it _hard_ at Dee. While it was in mid-flight, it abruptly grew larger and trapped Dee inside of it, electricity sparkling and shocking him as he urgently tried to escape with his spear. The spider, not bothering to savor the sight of his trapped foe, took off while he still had the chance. He soared into the background—and, much to surprise, I could see teardrops streaming from his eyes and past my cage

The gears in my head started to turn rapidly.

I didn't like where my thoughts about Taranza was leading to.

* * *

**Endless Explosions – Volcanic Crater**

By the time Kirby caught back up with Taranza at the end of Endless Explosions (that name is not at all hyperbole, by the way), I had managed to fill out a better assessment of Spider-Boy's character.

The outward demeanor he puts up – the one full of cockiness and confidence, of assurance in his ability and His Majesty's 'love' – it's all a façade. A façade he desperately pushes to the forefront in order to cope with the disconnect between the kind Sectonia of the past and the cruel Sectonia of the present. In fact, he's pushed it so far forward that he's convinced himself entirely that it's his true personality; that it's what he wants deep down.

As a guy who used to struggle with his desires and his duties, I can pass on this fact: leaving such a conflict unresolved does you no good.

If it wasn't for Kirby, I… I'd have ruined myself.

Taranza, beneath the layers upon layers of falsehoods he's put up, seems to be someone kind and a little insecure. He's the type of person who'll cling onto his friends at all costs, even if they're too changed to be recognizable as their former selves. He hasn't had a functioning support structure in a long time, and it doesn't help that the Kingdom of Floralia has been isolated from Dream Land for basically an eternity.

He's got a gentle heart, and even though he tries to hide it, he wears his emotions on his sleeve.

And unless Kirby and I can get him away from Sectonia, that heart of his may end up cracked beyond repair.

…

…I don't know where things are gonna go from here. Heck, I doubt even _Kirby_ does, and he's got far more experience in these matters than I'll ever have.

But when everything's said and done, I just hope that…

…Taranza'll turn out alright.

And even if he doesn't, even if he breaks from the impact…

…then we'll happily be there to pick him back up; to help him let his soul smile for real.

Because, well…

That's what friends are for, right?

* * *

_**Triple Deluxe**_** doesn't show a whole lot of Taranza prior to the final confrontation with him, and what little else we get of him is from lore told elsewhere. With this fic, I wanted to take a bit to really establish what he was like prior to Queen Sectonia's fall from grace. (Well, second, if you count her personality death after the Mirror happened.) Hence, a little 'quiet' scene from midway through Kirby's adventure.**

**Based on the dialogue he gets during **_**Triple Deluxe's**_** cutscenes and his mannerisms from his battles in both **_**Team Kirby Clash Deluxe**_** and**_** Super Kirby Clash,**_** I decided to pin down Taranza's characterization as something of an insecure and badly treated individual, desperately pining to satisfy his best friend's needs in whatever way he can. His confidence and cocky demeanor serves as a façade for him to unconsciously stay distracted from that aspect of himself – that is, until Sectonia's actions bring him crashing right back down to Pop Star.**

**It shouldn't be at all surprising that Dedede would catch on to some of these qualities, seeing as he himself once used to be insecure and desperate (though definitely not to the same degree as Taranza). He can't do much about it now unfortunately, given his current circumstances – and Taranza's certainly not gonna listen to anything he has to say – but he'll definitely keep note of it for later. You don't just dismiss unnerving hints like that, after all.**

**Also, when I said 'liberal amounts of Bandana Dee', I meant it: any good excuse for writing him in is an excuse I'll gladly indulge in! And what better way to do that than to let him have another scuffle with our favorite eventually-adorkable arachnid?**

**It's the only time I'll get to write in elements from his **_**Team Kirby Clash**_**-related appearances, so I'll take it!**

**Well, that's all for now – next time, we meet back up with Dedede and Taranza during the final boss fight. See you guys then!**


	3. Developing a True Friendship

**Eyes in the Skies**

_**Chapter 3  
**__Developing a True Friendship_

(Uploaded on October 26, 2019)

* * *

**Summary:** Dedede and the People of the Sky, newly freed, have just sent Kirby off to tangle with Queen Sectonia—but Taranza, the Dream Land regent notices, is nowhere to be seen.

Up until now, Taranza may have been something of a villain, and there's no doubt his actions were unquestionably bad… but Dedede, after hearing of Sectonia's emotionless betrayal of him, isn't about to let the poor arachnid deal with his despair alone.

"_Everybody needs a helping hand, every once in a while."_

**Notes:** This chapter is set during the end of _Triple Deluxe,_ while Kirby is fighting Queen Sectonia's second phase.

* * *

**[King Dedede]**

**Royal Road – Throne Room**

At last, the gateway was open.

After several long and painfully tense minutes, the eye-flowers controlling Sectonia's thick vines had fallen, opening the way for Kirby to be launched toward the final battle.

The People of the Sky – the fairies who had brought the cannon Kirby and I were using – cheered in delight, but there was little time to say anything else. The gap was closing at a steady pace, and we had to act immediately if there would be any chance of our worlds making it out of this alive.

"This is it," I said, a resolute frown on my lips. "It's do or die. Ready to show her what you're made of, Kirby?"

My best friend smiled, looking back at me from his place in the muzzle. "You know it, Dedede. It'll be _her_ bloom that'll be her doom, I promise."

"D-D-Don't forget to take this!" Dee piped up. An Ability Star was in his hands, encasing a fresh Pep Brew within it. "You'll—You'll need it when you fight her!" He quickly gave it to Kirby, the item being integrated into the puffball's inventory.

"Thanks, Dee." Kirby turned back frontward, a blue-and-white headband on his head and a trusty hammer nestled on his back. "One last thing before I go, you two: make sure Taranza's doin' somewhat decently, alright? Something tells me… he's gonna need a friend by his side. Multiple friends, even."

I nodded, and saluted for good measure. "Can do, Kirby." If it's a request he's got, it's a request I'll fulfill.

"That's all I need. Okay, _**let's dance!"**_

And so, with determination blazing in his eyes, Kirby blasted into the waiting distance.

I wiped some sweat from my forehead as I watched my best friend go, to face off against yet another unholy monster threatening Pop Star (oh, and Floralia, too). That crazy tyrant may have the Dreamstalk ready to siphon our planet's lifeforce completely dry… but I know she'll be no match for Kirby's vaunted Power of Miracles.

…also, I think I'm gonna have nightmares about bees for a while. Dear Galactic NOVA, she should _not_ have been the first thing I saw upon regaining consciousness.

"And here we go again," I muttered, solemnly shutting my eyes. A loud 'thud!' went off soon thereafter – looking again, Sectonia's vines had at last obscured our view of the final battle. "Go get her, Kirbs."

Silence filled the massive throne room.

Our roles in this tale was complete – for a time, at least.

All we could do at this point… was pray for our puffball's sweet success.

(Even if I'd really like to be out there fighting alongside him instead.)

…

…

…

One of the fairies clapped their hands together, letting out a deep breath. "So… now what?" she asked.

I sat in my seat for a few seconds more, before I got up and started stretching my limbs. "Now… I go and find out wherever the heck Taranza went. Where _is_ he, anyway? He was just here not a few minutes ago…" It wasn't like I was unconscious for _that_ long, after Kirby thrashed my butt again.

The various People of the Sky here were curious too; their gazes started darting around the area, as if the arachnid was hiding behind a nearby column or something. "That _is_ strange, Mr. Lower World King," one of them said. "He's got to be here _somewhere—_there's no way he could've missed his _precious queen_ merging with the Dreamstalk like that!"

"He better not have just _run away_ from all of this!" another one seethed, her one eye half-lidded in anger. "He may be a suck-up and an uncaring jerk, but I never took him to be a _coward!"_

"Hey, I know things have been pretty tense as of late," a sunflower fairy said, a sympathetic expression on her face, "and Taranza hasn't been the _greatest_ of people to talk to—" _(Yeah, I can tell.) _"—but that's no reason to treat him like a total pariah. Remember? He used to be so nice…"

"Yeah, and so did Her Majesty," retorted the purple-haired, one-eyed fairy. "I reckon that was all a trick of theirs—lure us in with their kindness, and then hit us where it hurts! It doesn't matter who they 'used to be'; if there was any hope of our old days of peace returning, we wouldn't have needed to send down the Dreamstalk seed in the first place!"

_Huh. So __**that's**__ where all the vines came from._

Me and Dee shared a look.

"This conversation's getting nowhere fast," I sighed.

"G-Guess that means you should d-do your Great King thing, Great King!" Dee suggested enthusiastically. "P-People always listen when you do your Great King thing!"

Translation: it looks like it's my time to intervene. "Okay, okay, everybody settle down!" I commanded, my regal voice at full blast. The increasingly-argumentative crowd promptly did as I directed.

"Being the only sane regent 'round here," I continued, "I'm gonna make an executive decision: we're gonna go find Taranza, and I'll deal with him from there, whether or not he's… 'doin' decently' or not."

About half of the People of the Sky looked like they wanted to contest my order, but in the end, they decided against it. "Fine."

And now to solve the mystery of the missing Spider-Boy.

The last thing I recall before being turned into a battle puppet was Kirby and Dee's determined faces; the Dream Land duo had burst into the throne room at the same time. Going by that logic…

"…Dee, after I was knocked out, did you see what happened to Taranza?"

Dee started shifting about nervously. "U-U-Umm, well… y-you see…" He briefly closed his eyes, rubbing his hands as the wording repeatedly failed to exit his mouth. "T-Taranza, he—he was… a-after he found out that Kirby was the real hero of Dream Land—n-not like I think you're any _less_ of a hero, G-Great King—" _Don't worry, I'm not taking offense._ "—he summoned Queen Sectonia and she… she…

"…she blasted him with her scepter, s-sending him over the cliff. And then… And then she said this:

'_Pitiful, Taranza… I have no use for a fool who cannot follow orders.'_

I grimaced. That… That sounded _harsh._

"Oh my gosh…" a flower fairy whispered, horrified. "He does so much for her, and she discards him just like that…!?"

"Jeez, not even _he_ deserves that…"

"We're gonna need to get to him as quickly as possible then," I established. "If he's been metaphorically hit that hard, then leaving him alone's a bad idea. He can't have wandered far from the castle – if we all split up, we'll be able to find him in no time at all. C'mon, everyone—let's get searchin'!"

"Gotcha!"

"If you say so!"

"Aye aye, Great King!"

* * *

**Royal Road – Flower Garden**

It took a whole bunch of floors and many more rooms – 'cause dear NOVA, this is the largest castle I've ever been in; and even the People of the Sky could barely navigate through it all – but eventually, we managed to find where Taranza was hiding.

As it turned out, he was holed up in this lovely flower garden, with sunflowers and roses and plenty more that I couldn't even begin to name. Plenty of the plants here were still in the process of blooming, sure—but that didn't masquerade its wonder at all.

In fact, it gave it a sort of homely feel.

"H-H-H-Holy crap…" Dee breathed, both his limbs dropped at his sides. "This place… it's—it's beautiful!"

"No way… this was in the castle all this time, and none of us knew about it…?" a fairy muttered.

I tore my gaze away from the sight in order to look around the room. As eye-catching as the area may be, that shouldn't distract us from locating our wayward arachnid.

And sure enough, squinting toward the back of the garden, I could see Taranza curled up beneath one of the tables, downcast eyes staring solemnly at the floor, tears freely streaming down his cheeks. In spite of the warm weather, he was shivering and holding his cape tightly around his body, not making any attempts to hide his utterly devastated sobbing.

He didn't look like a card-carrying villain, at this point. Right now, all he is… is a brokenhearted friend-to-be, who needs a steady path to walk on again.

(…just like I was, once upon a time.)

I took the initiative: with a stride full of purpose, I walked all the way to where Taranza was laying, crouching down to meet his eyesight. And Dee followed me in, loyal as ever, his body gestures making it clear he'd like nothing more than to hug the spider as tightly as he could.

The fairies stayed behind, probably because they'd make the situation worse. And they were wise enough to let us work our magic instead.

I reached out and lightly shook our former foe. "…hey, Taranza. Are… Are you okay?"

It's a dumb question, yeah, but… I've gotta ask it.

His breath hitched for a second. Then, he slowly shook his head.

"I'm… I'm so s-sorry, about what happened to y-you," Dee said, voice just as quiet as mine. "Your queen, Sectonia… she—she shouldn't have _done_ that t-to you. _Nobody_ should do anything like that to you, just because you made a simple mistake!"

"…no. She shouldn't have. But she did."

A brief moment of silence passed before he spoke again.

"You know… she always did love flowers."

I blinked. "Huh?" _There's a story behind this, I'm sure._

He shuffled a bit. "Back in the old days, there—there wasn't any sort of g-greenhouse in this castle. A-Actually, there weren't a whole lot of plants at all. One thing that Sectonia… _loved _to do… was go out into the settlements, s-see all the natural beauty that they had to offer. That our Moonlight Capital could only d-dream of having.

"…I was always with her wh-when she went. And—And her glorious smile was all I—all I ever needed to have. So I—I pitched the idea of m-making a big flower garden inside the castle and—sh-she was all for it."

I took another few glances at the garden—no, the _world_ flourishing before us, blossoming as if it were rebelling against the darkness outside. It was beyond anything I had ever seen back at my castle—and my Dees can get real enthusiastic when it comes to indulging in their hobbies. (You'd be surprised at how competitive playing Wii Fit can get, funnily enough.) "Team effort, huh?" I remarked. "If what you're saying's true, then I don't think either of you would've let the other do this alone."

"We did _everything_ together," he confirmed. "Sh-She was my best friend. And I… I was hers. …I _used_ to be hers."

He sniffled, a virtual waterfall now descending from his eyes. "This—Th-This is… None of this would've happened if I… _if I…!" _He choked, and kept choking for a good long while, but eventually, he managed to admit—

"_If I hadn't gotten that __**blasted**__ mirror for Sectonia, she'd still be a good person! A kind and caring queen! She'd… She'd…!"_

"…_she'd still be my friend…"_

…

…_mirror? _I thought, a little startled. _Hey… didn't Kirby go to a __**mirror world**__ once—?_

Dee winced at that last exclamation—it must've struck a chord with the insecurities that once plagued him. "I—I don't—I don't know what to say…! T-Taranza, h-how…?"

"…I thought it was a good gift for her," he explained further. "It was such a p-pretty mirror, w-with its crown and its angelic wings—and it was fairly ch-cheap, too! And she was feeling all down and nervous and scared that she'd turn out not to be the queen everybody deserved, but I know, I just _know,_ th-that's when everything began: her arrogance, her narcissism, her obsession over control. And I k-kept myself blind to it because I thought th-the mirror made her sincerely happy."

He sniffled. Now… N-Now it's too late to change anything—to save her, to stop her; it—it doesn't matter. She's going to _win,_ a-and we don't stand a chance. N-Not even that persistent puffball…

"…and it's all my fault…"

…

…

…

I closed my eyes, and took in a deep breath.

Taranza… Taranza wasn't in the best of states. I need to tread lightly here, if he's gonna have any sort of hope to latch onto.

So…

"…I've—I've never been in your situation myself… but I can understand what you're feeling," I began to reply. "I spent over a decade-and-a-half loathing Kirby for completely unjustified reasons."

Taranza's head shot up at my admission, surprise written all over his face. "B-Bwuh? B-B-B-But—you and him, y-you're so—_friendly!_ He—He literally climbed the D-Dreamstalk, just to r-rescue you!"

I sighed, willing myself to bring those old memories out of storage, if only for him. "I wasn't a very good ruler of Dream Land, back when I first ascended to my little throne. Heck, I'm not even real royalty—I just built a castle and called myself king, and nobody bothered to question it." Well, nobody until Meta Knight, but that's long since become water under the bridge.

"In a way, I was a lot like Sectonia is now: arrogant, egotistical, and _definitely_ insecure in my position of authority. And Kirby was the symbol for all my personal failures – at first because he dared to challenge me, later because I felt like I wasn't worthy in the face of him defeating me time after time. It… led me to make a _lot_ of mistakes, believe me." _(Exhibit A: the Star Rod incident. Oh __**boy,**__ the Star Rod incident.)_

"It took me a long time to overcome those traits of mine. It took me just as long to reconcile with who I thought was my most hated foe. Point is, you're not the only one who's continually beaten themselves up over and over and over. I was just fortunate enough to have a support structure in place—and two someones endlessly reaching out to me."

Dee beamed proudly (as much as he could, given the circumstances). "I—I was one of those someones!" he chimed in. "G-Great King can be really stubborn sometimes, b-but so can I!"

I chuckled. "No kidding. Anyway… I get that you feel responsible for everything, and that there's no way out of the mess you've made for yourself. But… I'm still willing to give you a chance, Taranza. A chance to help make things _right."_

"…b-but… but _why…?"_ he asked, slowly crawling from beneath the table. "I—I _kidnapped_ you. I u-_used_ you as a puppet to fight K-Kirby. I hurt y-you, and him, and that W-Waddle Dee, and _I only ever screw things up for people—!" _

"H-H-Hey, d-don't be like that!" Dee grabbed one of Taranza's many limbs in lieu of his shoulder, radiating copious amounts of sympathy. "S-Sure, wh-what you did was very, very bad guy—but it's not too late to change! We had a guy two years ago who tried t-taking over the universe, and we're totally fine with him now!"

"Call it naivety, call it too forgiving," I continued. "The only thing I'm seeing right now… is a **friend** who really, really a hand to lift them upward. The past is the past—you just gotta move forward now, with everything you've got."

I held a hand in front of him, a warm smile touching my cheeks. "So, what do you say? Wanna be our eyes in the skies?"

He stared at my olive branch for a while, seemingly shuffling through disbelief or confusion. Finally though, his expression settled on something close to… hope, and acceptance.

Several of his hands went and took mine.

"…okay," he said, wiping away some of his tears. "I'll… I'll try."

* * *

**Royal Road – Upper Level Balcony**

The three of us – me, Dee, and Taranza – stood behind the balcony, each of our gazes looking toward the moonstruck sky. The humongous flower that was Queen Sectonia could very visibly be seen, emergent from the top of the clouds, moving about and firing lasers at what—from here—appeared to be a tiny dot.

I couldn't tell how Kirby's battle with Sectonia was going from here. I prayed that the adjectives 'perfectly' and 'amazingly' would fit, though.

"Come on, come on," I impatiently muttered, tapping my foot against the ground. "It can't take _that_ long to find… whatever it is that they need to give to us…"

"Th-This is nerve-wracking…" Dee shivered, his imagination clearly running wild. "We—We can barely s-see the battle as it is, a-and I can't tell wh-who's winning at all…"

Taranza let out a long, pained sigh. "Sectonia… You're—You're so different now. I…"

He didn't have it in him to say anything else.

…

…you're probably wondering why we're just sitting here and watching this fight play out from afar.

Well, I _was_ planning on flying into the fray with Taranza, but the People of the Sky apparently wanted to get something as insurance first. _'You two need every advantage you can get!'_ they said as justification. They were pretty insistent on it, too.

What this insurance was, I didn't exactly know. But I hope it was worth it.

Eventually…

"We're back!" the voice of a fairy flitted through the doorway. "Sorry we took so long; it took us a few Warp Holes to find the closest Miracle Fruit vine!"

We turned around to see the residents of Floralia gathering into the room, two of them carrying this mythical-looking fruit: a shiny red drop encased in a yellow spiral, emanating a serene blue aura that practically lit up the room, even from this distance.

It didn't escape me that both Dee and Taranza's eyes had widened upon seeing it.

_Miracle Fruit, huh? Yeah, I can see why it's called that._

"So _that's_ wh-what you guys wanted…!" the former realized. "It's—It's for Kirby, i-isn't it!?"

"And here I thought the _Ultra Sword_ radiated power for days…" I said.

"We had Miracle Fruits growing _within the Moonlight Capital!?"_ the arachnid gawked, hovering toward the glowing product and taking it into his hands. "S-_Seriously?"_

"Surprise, surprise!" a fairy giggled. "Now you're prepared to go out there and show Her Majesty who's boss! If things go wrong, just feed Kirby it – he can probably eat her whole with the power it gives him!"

'_Eat her whole'? What the heck has Kirby been doing this entire journey?_

…_you know what, tell me the story later. We've got a mission to finish._

Taranza nodded, putting the so-called Miracle Fruit into his inventory. "Th-Thanks." Four of his limbs then latched onto the rim of my coat, lifting me into the air. "I—I promise, I won't—I won't let you all d-down again!"

"D-Don't hold back, Taranza! You too, Great King!" Dee cheered. Each of the fairies were making similar acknowledgements to us. "M-Make sure we all still have a home to go back to!"

"Don't worry, Dee," I grinned, holding my hammer high. "Sectonia won't be escaping the Great Hammer of Justice for much longer! Okay, Taranza—_**let's dance!"**_

And with that declaration, we soared off into the Eternal Dreamland ahead, ready to assist Kirby in ending this crisis once and for all.

* * *

**I'm so sorry, Taranza.**

**Unfortunately, due to the way **_**Triple Deluxe**_** is structured, we don't get to see Taranza turning over a new leaf for ourselves. And how he found a Miracle Fruit to aid Kirby, for that matter. This chapter exists to rectify that. 'Sides, I'm always up for writing a good dose of Emotional Hurt/Comfort, and this fic is no exception.**

**Dedede's talk with Taranza is only a small step forward for him, as you can no doubt tell. I imagine it's not easy to let go of the person you've devoted your whole life to, in spite of how awfully she's treated you. But everything's gotta start from somewhere—and for Taranza, that 'somewhere' is putting what remains of his former crush to rest.**

**It's a pretty discomforting scenario for Dedede, who knows what it's like to harbor a toxic relationship (however internal it may have been), clinging onto it to the point where it almost drives you entirely to ruin. But in the end, I suppose that's why he's just about perfect for this situation – he shares a lot of traits with Kirby, having been his best friend for six years and going, and he's certainly not gonna let Taranza suffer in silence. Not when he can do something about it.**

**The two of them may not be the definitive heroes of the story—but that doesn't mean they can't be heroes in their own way. And sometimes, maybe that's enough. **

**Well, that's all for now – next time, we take a Dededetour toward the epilogue. See you there!**


	4. Epilogue: Dawn of a New Day

**Eyes in the Skies**

_**Epilogue  
**__Dawn of a New Day_

(Uploaded on October 28, 2019)

* * *

**Summary:** It takes a lot of courage to be able to stand up for yourself. It takes even more of that to stand up against your former friend.

Barely a week after Sectonia's defeat, the deposed regent returns with deluxe-level strength—but this time, Taranza won't give her any inch forward. His heart still aches… but with Dedede to show him the way, he'll make a future worth remembering.

(That was his promise to her. And he won't make the same mistakes again.)

**Notes:** This chapter is set at the end of _Triple Deluxe's _Extra Game, **Dededetour**.

* * *

One week later…

* * *

_In retrospect, I probably should've seen something like this coming._

_It's been a little under a week since Queen Sectonia was struck down from the heavens, courtesy of Kirby and one huge fat honking laser beam. (His Power of Miracles works as spectacularly as ever.) And though it's a little too early to say, I feel that Floralia's well on its way to recovery—though it helps that my own forces are assisting with the process._

_Under different circumstances, I'd be up there in Royal Road personally, instead of spending most of my time coordinating recovery efforts from safely in my castle. But, well, who wouldn't want to kick back and relax a little after the ordeal I just went through?_

_Even a king needs a break every now and then!_

…_and so did Taranza._

_I invited him over to stay at my castle for a while, give him time to grieve. And though he got a few disgruntled looks from my guards at first (single-handedly trashing them and kidnapping their king tends to do that), eventually, they started warming up to him._

_Helps that I'm a little more forgiving than most. And that Kirby's pretty much influenced all of us in that regard._

_I'm not complaining much, either way._

_But unfortunately for us, the gods above decided that escalation is the hippest trend to go for. What else could explain Queen Sectonia inexplicably returning through an ornate mirror, as reported by my troops? And if that wasn't bad enough, she had used its dark magic to power up her forces—all so she could take back her throne and return Floralia to a state of localized hell._

_Oh, and Warp Holes were _everywhere_ now, for some reason._

…_I miss the days when things were as simple as 'beat 'em once, they don't come back'._

_Notably, the situation was remarkably similar to that of three years ago. Upgraded enemies, EX Bosses, a much more high-stakes situation, mysterious artifacts doing weird stuff, portals up the wazoo… and a recently-defeated villain was at the helm of that insanity, too._

_(Who knew what kind of power the Master Crown _really_ had?)_

_Back on topic… Given that Kirby was most certainly deserving of a nap after everything he's done, I elected to be the one to hike back up Floralia and deal with the renewed crisis personally. And I wouldn't be alone, either—Bandana Dee and Taranza would be joining me, spears and magic aiding my trusty hammer._

_We may not be the one-man army that Kirby is… but we're still a force to be reckoned with._

_And so, after a long and arduous trip dealing with all these Deluxe-Level Devils… we found ourselves in the throne room once more._

_Here we go. No regrets, now._

_**It's rematch time.**_

* * *

**[King Dedede]**

**Floralia  
Royal Road – Throne Room**

"_You are all __**fools**__ to oppose me so."_

Queen Sectonia was a figure I had scarcely seen. I caught a glimpse of her as I had woken up from being unconscious—and believe me, _that's_ an image I sincerely want to forget—_and_ as I was swooping in to save Kirby from her, but that's it.

From here, though… yeesh, I can honestly say I'm never gonna be able to look at bees the same way ever again.

She hovered relatively high above us, holding her twin scepters tightly in her grasp. Her red-and-pink color scheme radiated power about on a level close to Magolor's EX form, not helped one bit by her frayed wings and her curved cape. Behind her was a twisted and black Dimensional Mirror, sinisterly staying in the background where we couldn't reach, and filling the room with an oppressive aura amplified by Sectonia's presence.

Monarch of Madness  
**Queen Sectonia DX**

In short, she was every bit the tyrant I had expected to be… and _more._

"_Do you truly believe your pitiful resistance will do you any good?" _she continued to ask. _"A self-proclaimed king, a measly Waddle Dee, and a useless traitor… none of you have __**anything**__ on the might of my righteous royalty. That sanctimonious puffball isn't here to save you this time—and yet, you insist on fighting against __me,__ the almighty ruler of the heavens?"_

Indignantly, Dee stood to my right, spear pointed directly at the resurrected regent's heart. To my left stood Taranza, staring forlornly at the friend he used to know. And meanwhile, I was bristling in irritation as I held my hammer over my shoulder, ready to pound her into the dirt where she belonged.

I was confident in my own skills, don't get me wrong, and her words really shouldn't have affected me at all. But hearing them come out of _her_ mouth… it just rubbed me the wrong way.

(Maybe it's because, as a fellow royal, however self-proclaimed I may be… I hold her to a much higher standard than others.)

Either way… I wasn't gonna let her arrogance slide here. "Just 'cause Kirby's taking a nap right now," I growled, _"doesn't_ mean we can't show you a thing or two! The People of the Sky are better off without you—and we're gonna prove it!"

"Yeah! Great King's right!" my faithful assistant exclaimed. "You're not gonna hurt anyone anymore, Queen Sectonia! We won't let you!"

"'_Hurt'? 'Better off'? I ruled this land with all the kindness I believed it deserved. My leadership was unparalleled, incomparable to all others! To insinuate that it was somehow unspeakably wrong… is __**sacrilege."**_ She turned to her former servant, insect eyes gleaming with malice. _"Taranza. You would dare side with these fools, after all I have done for you? Betray your queen and this land to perish under the oversight of these conceited clowns?"_ She shook her head. _"Perhaps I should've labeled you my court jester, rather than as my retainer."_

"_Hey!"_ Dee interjected. "Don't talk about Taranza like that! He's a hundred times the person you'll ever be!"

_Keep calm, Dedede, keep calm… don't let her appearance creep you out!_

"'Sides, you're one to talk, Sectonia," I remarked. "You and that horrific make-up job belongs more in a circus than on a throne!"

"_Silence. I see no need to further waste my time with you."_

I grit my teeth. _That's how you want to play things, huh…?_

Relaxing my muscles a little, I cast a glance at Taranza, who was shaking in his nonexistent boots. All six of his hands were clenched into fists, and his gaze was notably pointed toward the floor and away from she who he once served. Glimmers of something were falling from his eyes, too—something I suspected to be tears.

I could tell this whole situation was really getting to him. I mean, seeing his one-time best friend again, taunting him so soon after her recorded death? I'm not sure what I'd do about that myself.

"_There is still hope, though. This mirror… This wondrous, exquisite mirror…"_ Sectonia gestured to the decoration behind her._ "…it holds a grand and potent power, the likes of which Floralia has yet to see. If you choose to side with me, to remember your place in my world… then I will grant you amnesty, for everything you have failed to do. And you will be rewarded with abilities beyond this realm—and beyond that of your pitiful lackeys."_

To his credit, Taranza didn't submit at all – in fact, he held his ground and shook his head to her bid. "…it's that mirror that made you like this in the first place. It's that mirror that c-cursed Floralia to a nightmare under your guidance. I… I won't have anything to do with it—or what you've become."

He finally lifted his head, tearfully looking at her. "Sectonia. C-Can't you see that—that what you're doing is… w-_wrong? _Th-That this… this doesn't help anybody, not even y-yourself?" More hysterically, he pleaded, "P-Please! We—We used to be _friends!_ Tell me… isn't there enough of you left to remember…?"

"…_I have no 'friends',"_ she coldly stated, eyes narrowing into slits. _"Only tools to further my cause for complete control."_

The arachnid slumped. I think he knew it was pointless to reach out. Sectonia's mind was long gone by this point. Anyone could see that, honestly.

But… something tells me he felt he owed it to her to at least give it his best shot.

"…so you say," he whispered, hoarsely.

I patted his back. "I know it hurts," I said, "but there's nothing more you can do for Sectonia now." I aimed my harshest glare at the so-called queen, readying my hammer to start bashing at her to-be corpse. "All that's left… is to give her the eternal beauty sleep she so desires!"

"Y-You said it, Great King!" Dee chimed in. "If—If she's no longer a friend, then as _your_ friends, it's—it's our job to take her down together! We'll have your back, d-don't worry!"

Taranza smiled a little. "I… I know. Th-Thank you."

"_I can sense it—you are choosing to oppose me, in spite of my generous offer,"_ Sectonia sneered. _"Disappointing. If that is your wish… then I will have my divine essence purge this land of your insolence!"_

"I won't let this twisted mockery of you go on any further," Taranza declared, magic flaring from each of his limbs. "For the sake of everyone—in Dream Land, in Floralia—we'll stop you in your tracks, no matter how much my heart may ache!"

"You may have forsaken your bonds of friendship," I added, "but we still feel them as strongly as they ever were. When we're united, with the prayers of our other allies backing us… there's nothing we can't do!"

"It's time f-for you to surrender, Queen Sectonia!" Dee finished us off. "Y-Your days of torturing the world are _through! __**G-Get ready!"**_

The monstrous tyrant made no verbal affirmation, only a furious snarl—and from there, the final battle for Floralia began in earnest.

* * *

Y'know… this whole adventure was kickstarted by Taranza mistaking me for the 'hero of the lower world'. And yet, funnily enough, I'm living up to that ideal of heroism despite my more sidekick-esque status. Me, Dee, and Taranza too.

It's true that Kirby's our savior, the bringer of miracles, the one who defeats deities and demons alike. I won't dispute that. But if there's anything—anything at all—that these last couple of weeks have taught me…

…it's that every story has its fair share of heroes. Never just the one.

And likewise, every story has its heroes waiting to be born, a light waiting to overcome the darkness within them and do right by this galaxy. It can be faint, almost nonexistent sometimes—but it _is_ there. So there's no reason why we can't do our best to let it shine.

Kirby said to me once, so long ago, "There's nothing wrong with having a lot of good friends!" That's part of the reason why I never disparaged Taranza: you never know when a good friend will be waiting around the corner.

We'll always find a way forward, with friendship at our fingertips—

And if I'm being honest… there's nothing else I'd rather be doing.

Alright, Taranza. You ready for this?

**_Let's make a future worthy of the crowns we wear!_**

* * *

**Initially, last chapter was supposed to be the end of the line for this fic—but I feel like it's really prudent to show some of the Extra Games' canonity in the **Make a Friend** 'verse. I mean, they **_**do**_** often reveal vital plot elements, and they're just cool either way!**

**As I mentioned back in Chapter 1, Dedede's a little more qualified for the role of 'hero' than he gives himself credit for. Being a strong, benevolent king and an accomplished adventurer (see **_**Return to Dream Land)**_** makes you a pretty good contender, in that regard – not to mention, he's a Royal Who Actually Does Something. In a way, this is the culmination of all of his Character Development—and it's something of a high mark to end this fic on.**

**I couldn't resist having Dee and Taranza join Dedede on his self-appointed quest. Dee's pretty loyal to his Great King, and Taranza deserves a chance to prove he's reformed. The latter point's kinda the point of this fic, after all—it's only appropriate he gets to personally deal with his inner turmoil, right here and now. **

'**Sides, this series is all about the **Power of Friendship**. It's been that way from day one. I couldn't really foresee this fic, centered so closely around Dedede and Taranza, ending on any other note, to be honest. Taranza's a friend now—and Dedede won't let him down if he can help it. And from here… life can only move on upwards, hopefully.**

**One last thing: **_**Return to Dream Land's**_** Extra Game, in this 'verse, was more along the lines of **Dededetour** and **Meta Knightmare Returns**: a marathon romp across each of the game's levels, featuring all the harder difficulty changes and the EX Bosses. The difference between the latter two modes is that this Extra Game ended at Landia EX, Magolor EX, and Galacta Knight, in that order. ('Cause Soul Bosses, I feel, should be kept to the True Arena. Feels more… climatic, that way.)**

**Well, that's all for now – see you guys around!**


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